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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A really good netbook, October 2, 2009
This review is from: S12 12.1" 160GB HDD Black (Tools & Hardware)
I've only had the S12 for 3 days, and I'll likely be adding to the review, but wanted to go ahead and make a little info available, especially on the subject of upgrading RAM (memory). I'm referencing the model with the 1.6gHz Atom processor, not the Via Nano version.
First, this is a netbook, not a notebook, so adjust your expectations accordingly. This may be a little difficult given the price, and the fact it's larger than the usual netbooks, but it is indeed 'just' a netbook. I knocked the star rating from 5 to 4 stars mainly because the price pushes the S12 into low-end laptop territory. Many buyers will add an external optical drive (no DVD/CD drive included) and extra RAM. After upgrading, the S12 is actually priced above a good many of the low-end laptops, and many of the low end laptops will still have more features. Of course, the S12 compensates by being slim and lightweight, but the prictag is a bit hefty for a netbook, and the limited features a netbook provides.
The screen is 12", it's bright, and the colors are nice. I haven't noticed too much in the way of reflections. The keyboard is full sized, or close enough that I can't tell the difference, and touch typing is easy. The weight, with the battery installed, is 3 pounds 6.7 ounces per my digital postal scale. Construction quality appears to be very good, it's not flimsy at all.
There are 3 USB ports, with two on the same side. I'm mentioning this because a lot of external optical drives require two USB connections, and the supplied cables are pretty short. There are a lot of complaints about this from those that purchase netbooks without 2 ports on the same side (the drives not being usable without adding an extension cable, a simple fix, but aggravating). With the S12 you shouldn't have the issue, so one less thing to worry about.
Memory Updgrades - There seems to be some misinformation on this. The 1.6 Atom processor is limited to 2GB of RAM (supposedly). There is 1GB attached to the motherboard (not removable), and there is an empty slot under a removable cover on the bottom of the S12, so you can add one more stick. I've read one or two reports of users successfully adding a 2GB stick (for 3GB total), but those couple of reports were for the Via Nano version of the S12, so I don't know if the Atom version will be the same way. Amazon is pushing the 2GB Crucial stick, implying you will be able to use a total of 3GB, but I think that's questionable. Maybe more info will surface on this, but I ordered only 1GB of additional RAM figuring I'd play it safe.
Battery Life - I haven't run the battery all the way down, but looks like maybe 4 to 4.5 hours. Not great, but keep in mind you're running a 12" screen, and screen resolution (1280x800) is higher than most netbooks.
Touchpad - Lenovo made it a good size, not quite as big as most notebooks, but it's more than ok. There are two separate mouse buttons underneath which are on the small side, but they work smoothly. The scroll bar on the mousepad works ok, a little jerky at times, but overall it's fine.
Wifi - Seems to have good range, pretty standard, and no complaints so far.
On the subject of wifi, I'll just mention as an FYI, I had an issue with a 'validating identity' message the first time I tried to connect to my home wireless network. I had entered my network password, and the S12 connected to my home network, but then got hung up 'validating identity'. You can read about problems with this if you do a web search, but I ended up doing the following: Right click on your wireless connection. Click properties. Click on wireless networks tab. Click properties. Click on Authentication Tab. Clear the box for "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network". Again, I did this on the S12, didn't do anything to my wireless router. I still had to enter my network password to get going on my network. I'm sure the vast majority will have no problem, so take if for what it's worth.
In summary, the S12 is a slick product, not too small, not too big. It has good build quality, a big screen (in netbook terms), a large keyboard, and is light enough to carry around without much effort. I considered the Samsung NC20, but the
difference between the Amazon prices for the two tipped me toward the S12 (I didn't want to deal with 3rd parties on this purchase). All in all, a good quality product.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful, September 12, 2009
This review is from: S12 12.1" 160GB HDD Black (Tools & Hardware)
I'm not easily impressed, but this is a wonderful product. I bought it for a college kid who wanted a Mac and only a Mac, because that is what the university was pushing and that is what all her friends had. But, knowing that all she needed it for was for homework and blogging, the Lenovo netbook couldn't fail. She can't tell and doesn't know that it is a mere netbook. Convergence is coming, folks.
To my surprise, it runs videos quite adequately although not perfectly, but good enough for the price. The six cell battery is phenomenal.
I'm thinking of buying my own; if I did so I would buy the largest battery possible (nine cell) and the 2G memory upgrade.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love it, January 12, 2010
This review is from: S12 12.1" 160GB HDD Black (Tools & Hardware)
A little slow when you're running too much at once, but I love this notebook. Just small enough yet a good size screen, lightweight. I never think twice about tossing it into my bag because it might add too much weight. The battery life is a solid four hours two months into consistent, daily use. I dropped a star because it isn't the fastest laptop around, but it's a keeper.
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